As we close out 2023, a special year for Unicauca: celebrating 196 years of our Alma Mater and 150 years of that legendary faculty that also forms a significant part of who we are as a university. To conclude our special 'Faces of a Legacy,' we knew we had a challenging mission: to finish this series of touching stories on a high note. It didn't take us long to decide that the protagonist would be the civil engineer from Unicauca, Jorge Humberto Campo, who throughout his 85 years of life has stood out not only as a great professional but above all as a generous person always willing to help others.

It was on October 13th, during the Gala Night celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, that we had the opportunity to hear Engineer Jorge deliver a beautiful and emotional speech upon receiving recognition for his life and work. In his words, he expressed heartfelt gratitude to his beloved wife for always supporting him in his journey to become a civil engineer.

'Tonight, I give thanks to my wife because it is through her that I became an engineer. I married Mrs. Berta Zarzosa Dorado when I was in fifth grade. My father did not want to give me his blessing and told me, 'You're just a kid, what will you do? How will you support her?' Indeed, she was a college graduate, and I worked with my family as a laborer, but I took the plunge. Until the last moment, my father did not want to give me his blessing, but he gave it to me at the church entrance. She made me an engineer, as do all the women of the world and all of you present here today, who are the most valuable in uplifting the community. They are the ones who pray and scold, who guide and speak the truth when needed,' Engineer Jorge mentioned at the beginning of his speech, leaving everyone present with hearts full of joy to hear a man speak with such love about his life partner."

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Undoubtedly, that evening made something very clear: Engineer Jorge is not only a distinguished professional but also gifted with the ability to speak, as we truly felt a special connection and wished to hear more from him. Therefore, days later, we decided to reach out to Engineer Jorge to learn more about his story; a living history within him. Thus, one November afternoon, Engineer Jorge Humberto Campo arrived at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the institution that shaped him, and began to narrate his entire life.Engineer Jorge was born in the city of Popayán on May 4, 1938. His parents were Ricardo Campo Santacruz and Tulia Perdomo. He attended primary school at Colegio Champagnat and completed his secondary education at the Liceo of the University of Cauca. During his secondary education, he made the first major decision of his life.Entering fifth grade, during those vacations, I married Berta Zarzosa Dorado, the great woman I spoke about at the Gala Night celebrating the 150 years of the Faculty of Civil Engineering. She was a teacher and I was a laborer, working in my family's firm,' the engineer mentioned with great pride, as his wife has accompanied him through every stage of his journey, especially during the most difficult moments they have faced together.

During his education, Engineer Jorge also cultivated his love for sports, a passion that continued throughout his life in various disciplines.'Back in 1957, I was an athlete, and it was sensational because I belonged to the Liceo of the University of Cauca. So, we participated in the university's sports events with all the faculties. At that time, I had the luxury, as they used to say, of excelling, and I won many events. From there, I went on to attend the first National University Games. I was a national university champion in athletics and competed against great champions of the sport at that time. Later on, I dedicated myself to archery and became an archery champion. I've been a champion countless times and in the year 2000, I founded the Archery Federation, because previously we belonged to the Shooting and Hunting Federation, which was the Firearms Shooting Federation,' Engineer Jorge recalled.

After completing his secondary education, he made another significant decision, a bold leap that sprang from the depths of his being, something ingrained in his veins: he began studying Civil Engineering inspired by his two role models, his grandfather and father “My grandfather, Pedro Campo Santa Cruz, and my father participated in the construction of the Basilica of Popayán and the Railroad Station. They talked a lot about building works, bridges, homes, and I became enthusiastic. I made the decision to study Civil Engineering at the University of Cauca”

But the road wasn't easy. While he pursued his studies, he also worked. “I am proud to be the son of workers, of a foreman, my grandfather, and my father. Knowing that they built the Cathedral and the Railroad Station, I have felt proud my whole life. Additionally, when I was studying in secondary school, I took a year off and worked as a laborer in my parents' company. I made pipes, tiles, and cement blocks for home construction. So, with calloused hands, we rose up, and we continued working, most importantly, respecting the workers, caring for them, ensuring they feel well.”

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So, while Engineer Jorge was studying Civil Engineering at the University of Cauca, he started working at the Soil Laboratory in Public Works District number 6. 'Doctor José Tomás Angulo was a close friend of the family, so while chatting, my father asked him to help me out, knowing I was studying engineering. The doctor then appointed me as a laborer in the Soil Laboratory of Public Works District number 6. There, the supervisor was a man named Dionisio Bastidas. I was there from 1963 until 1965. This experience as a student and worker in the laboratory placed me at a higher level compared to my peers because I had that advantage. Being involved there helped me a lot because, remember, I had married before entering engineering, so it helped me support the wonderful woman I married.'

Engineer Jorge completed his university studies and was appointed in the municipality of Túquerres, in Nariño. 'I had heard that the Public Works District union in Nariño, especially in Túquerres, was extremely tough and had a longstanding reputation. When I arrived there, they said, 'Oh, this young engineer.' I always wore cream-colored pants, a cream jacket, and a white shirt, almost always in white, so they called me 'The First Communion Engineer.' Of course, there's always someone who wants to make an impression, so he said to me, 'Look, sir, you won't last here six months and you'll leave.' I looked at him and said, 'Well, let's go, let's work those six months first.' So, I started working with them, and fortunately, I've always been humble, without any pretensions, and I ended up staying more than six months. When I left, they gave me a grand farewell. I learned to eat guinea pig there, what a delight, I miss it. I've had to return to Nariño sporadically, and people greet me, ask about Mrs. Berta and the girls. I tell them they've graduated, they're specialists, working at the University.'

During this time, Engineer Jorge faced one of the greatest challenges of his life when he suffered from the painful Guillain-Barré syndrome, from which he recovered thanks to the medical staff in Bogotá, but above all, thanks to the immense love of his family, especially his wife.'We held onto God's hand, and with such a good woman by my side, Berta was dedicated to me during that illness. I was in the hospital in Nariño, and the only things that worked were my chest and stomach. They even had a steel lung ready in case my chest muscles paralyzed. In those circumstances, I had to go to a clinic in Bogotá for a year. Berta wanted to come with me, but I told her no, that she should take care of our daughters. The day they sent me to Bogotá, I sent her to Pasto to look after the girls, who were already in elementary school, and we also had a potato crop there that needed attention. We went through that experience for over a year, but I returned, thanks be to God, as I am here,' the engineer mentioned with a joyous expression, recalling this triumph.

And speaking of triumphs, one of the projects that Engineer Jorge remembers most from his time in Túquerres is the Tumaco Bridge, the most important work he undertook early in his career.'In 1969, I completed what has been the most significant work of my life. It was the greatest experience I could have had, and it caused me much suffering. I wondered, 'Why did I become an engineer?' There's a big river at the entrance, followed by Tumaco Island and then the other part of the island. To connect these two parts, a bridge of nearly 400 meters in length was needed. The Ministry of Public Works ordered a reduction in the bridge span width, cutting it down to 370 meters. They did hydraulic filling, brought in a crane to extract sand from the sea and fill it all in. This narrowed the passage of the river between the two islands, causing the tide to flow faster. As the tide speed increased, it began to undermine the pilings, until they were left in the air and the slab settled. Nineteen firms were consulted, 5 from Ecuador, 4 from Peru, and 10 from Colombia. None wanted to measure the reconstructed bridge, but Minister of Public Works Dr. Carlos Lleras Restrepo decided on the administration's effort. Graduated in 1965, experience was two years, engineering a work of such.

After these experiences that allowed him to grow personally and professionally, Engineer Jorge, along with his brother, took on with great responsibility one of the toughest times in Popayán's history: the reconstruction of the capital of Cauca after the earthquake of '83 “We had already built neighborhoods like Antonio Nariño, Camilo Torres, and were constructing El Guayabal when the earthquake knocked down 25 houses because they were all at tie beam level. That time was very tough, we felt it deeply, and we worked tirelessly for the city. We put all our machinery at the service of the city, so we brought out the dump trucks, we had two backhoes to clean up the city. In the early days, at a bakery in El Cadillal neighborhood, all the bakers had gotten trapped inside. With our machinery, we opened up for them, and when they came out, they looked like mummies all covered in flour, but we managed to get them out,” expressed this Unicaucanos with a slightly crackling voice, filled with nostalgia as he recalled one of the most painful times in the history of Colombia's 'White City'.

In addition to the help they provided to Popayán, Engineer Jorge also recalls the moments when a large group of people invaded a plot of his property, where they were planning to build a neighborhood:'People invaded the land, and the National Army was going to enter to remove them, but we supported the people and organized them. Since we had the plans for the houses we were going to build, I wanted them to settle on each plot according to the plan. However, they built their homes on the sidewalks, in the streets, in the green areas. The only thing I managed to save was the soccer field; I didn't let them invade it. I cleared it out, and then we got bamboo and a company donated plastic sheets. We fenced off the entire soccer field. For that, I did ask for support from the army to prevent it from being invaded, and it became a shelter only for women and children.'It's important to mention that in gratitude to the construction company owned by the engineer and his brother, the people who settled on that plot named one part of the area 'Los Campo,' and the other part was named '31 de marzo,' which are now established neighborhoods within the capital of the department.

Similarly, during this time, Engineer Jorge took on an extremely important task: the reconstruction, reorganization, sanitation, and relocation of corpses from the Central Cemetery; a painful mission that required a lot of effort because, as many know, the corpses had come out of their vaults and their identification was not easy.'They had to assign three soldiers to protect me because the relatives of the deceased loved ones wanted to kill me when they couldn't find them. So they had to give me army uniforms, but thankfully, I was in charge of the cemetery for about four months and managed to organize it. So I believe that the one up there will put me in some place,' Engineer Jorge shared with us with great pride in fulfilling his duty.

In addition to the civil works described earlier, Engineer Jorge also remembers with great joy when he built different roads in the Cauca department using pick and shovel.'It was very gratifying to work with the communities. We built the road from Silvia to La Campana, Gabriel López, Insate, and Urbina, many roads here in the Cauca department. They almost wouldn't let me into the house because I was always working, but working with the communities was very rewarding,' the engineer expressed with a mix of playfulness and nostalgia.

We could stay here writing pages and pages of anecdotes and very exciting things that we know can be inspiring for those who set goals, dream big, and work to make them a reality. But it's time to close the story of this man who is living history himself. Through this text, we have tried to recount part of the life and work of this great human being because, as we said at the beginning, at 85 years of age he is one of the most prominent figures in Cauca society, and this is not by chance: it is the result of his countless contributions, works, and collaborations with the municipality and the department. Therefore, we have decided to conclude the 'Faces of a Legacy' series, sharing part of the journey of this unique individual who undoubtedly upholds the name of the University of Cauca, thanks to his example.

We say goodbye to this 2023, a very special year thanks to the commemoration of the 150 years of the Faculty of Civil Engineering; a celebration that allowed us to explore the lives of several individuals who have been educated in the classrooms of this great faculty. Through their voices, we were able to reconstruct and leave a unique memory for posterity. To them, who accepted our invitation, we give infinite thanks for opening their hearts and allowing us to tell their stories, because from this University of Excellence and Solidarity, we will always honor their legacy.

For more information:

Faculty of Civil Engineering

Email: d-civil@unicauca.edu.co